The Capture of Fort William Henry - photo 1

The Capture of Fort William Henry

Lot 46
17.01.2024 11:00UTC -05:00
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$ 6 930
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUSA, New York
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ID 1119245
Lot 46 | The Capture of Fort William Henry
Estimate value
$ 7 000 – 9 000
The Capture of Fort William Henry

Gazette de France, 18 October 1757

FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR – Supplément à la Gazette du 15 Octobre 1757. Relation de la prise du Fort Georges, ou Guillaume-Henry, situé sur le Lac Saint-Sacrement, & de ce qui s'est passé cette année en Canada. Paris: Bureau d'Adresse, aux Galleries du Louvre, 18 Octobre 1757.



The French announcement of Montcalm's controversial victory over the British at Fort William Henry. A very rare and very fine "extra" issue of the Gazette de France, apparently printed immediately after the arrival of reports of Montcalm's capture of Fort William Henry, the key British fort on Lake George. In March 1757 Montcalm had ordered Rigaud de Vaudreil to capture this crucial outpost, and the English garrison was besieged. The English held out in spite of heavy French artillery, repulsing four attacks before finally surrendering, under formal European military terms, on 9 August 1757. Those equitable terms of capitulation, though, meant little to the nearly 2000 Indians warriors allied with the French, and once the English had quit the security of their stockade, the Indians exacted a terrible revenge against soldiers and civilians alike, tomahawking some 185 men, women and children and capturing another 300 to 500 before Montcalm's troops could intervene. The text gives a full, very detailed account of the various stages of the siege and subsidiary actions, reprints the surrender terms and briefly notes the "massacre" that ensued. "In the end the violent sequel to Montcalm's victory would both defeat Vaudreuil's best efforts to salvage Indian relations and realize Montcalm's worst fears of British vengeance." Truly, "the fall of Fort William Henry thus marked a critical juncture in the war..." (Anderson, Crucible of War, pp.198-199).



Rare. This supplement, dated 15 October, evidently precedes by a few days the 6-leaf edition, though both have colophons dated 18 October, as described in Church. The 6-leaf issue, though, lacks the heading "Supplement" dated 15 October, in the Gazette issue. Church 1020 (6-leaf edition); Sabin 69272 (6-leaf) terming the Barlow copy "the only copy known"). Copies of the 6-leaf edition have been traced at Harvard, John Carter Brown and the Huntington (Barlow-Church copy). One other copy of the present 4-page "Supplement" dated 15 October is in the National Library of Canada (ex-Lande Collection).



Quarto (258 x 192mm). Four pages, printed in two columns, paginated 173-176. Single sheet, never bound, deckle edges preserved (folds, a very tiny hole to first leaf at vertical fold, a small faint dampstain). Provenance: Christie's New York, 12 June 2008, lot 72.

Place of origin:Canada, Western Europe, France, Europe
Auction house category:Printed books
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